N.C. study shows how poor most agencies are at proactive dissemination
A study by the John Locke Foundation, a conservative think tank, found that most local and state agencies in North Carolina are really bad at proactively providing public data online, particularly budget data. As the group notes in its
study released May 14, there's really no reason why government can't provide financial data online so citizens can track contracts and each expense. Journalists can do a similar analysis for their state by applying the same methodology to see whether agencies are providing the information online for citizens to easily peruse - a simple
Sunshine Week project to publish next spring. Also, this study confirms that freedom of information is a non-partisan issue - conservatives and liberals both support government accountability.